Ready for a dinner that tastes like it came straight from a restaurant—but is easy enough for a weeknight? This chicken satay recipe checks all the boxes: flavorful, crowd-pleasing, and easy to make. The chicken is marinated for several hours (or overnight, if you’re planning ahead), then threaded onto skewers and grilled until slightly charred and caramelized around the edges. But the real star is the peanut sauce—it’s creamy, a little spicy, and brightened with fresh lime. You can even make it a few days in advance, so it’s ready when you are.
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Satay
- Soy Sauce: Adds savory and umami flavors to both the chicken marinade and peanut sauce.
- Vegetable Oil: Helps coat the chicken evenly and keeps it from sticking to the grill.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Adds deep, molasses-y sweetness that balances the saltiness and spice in both the chicken and the sauce.
- Ketchup: Gives the marinade a bit of sweetness and tang, and helps the chicken caramelize as it cooks.
- Garlic: Adds bold, aromatic flavor to both the marinade and the peanut sauce.
- Ground Turmeric And Coriander: Warm, earthy spices that bring flavor and a golden color to the marinade.
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken: Chicken thighs, breasts, or tenderloins all work—use whatever you like best. Just note the cooking time will just be slightly longer for the thighs.
- Unsweetened Coconut Milk and Peanut Butter: These form the base of the peanut sauce, giving it a nutty flavor, slight sweetness, and creamy texture.
- Thai Red Curry Paste: Packs bold, fragrant spice into the sauce—just a tablespoon adds a ton of flavor. I use the Thai Kitchen brand, which is easy to find in most large supermarkets.
- Sriracha and Fresh Lime Juice: These flavorings add a little heat and brightness to the peanut sauce.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the marinade. In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, ketchup, garlic, turmeric, and coriander. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
Step 2: Marinate the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Marinating the chicken for 4 hours is totally sufficient and will render very flavorful chicken, but if you have time to marinate it overnight, it’s best for maximum depth of flavor.
Step 3: Preheat the grill and thread the skewers. When ready to cook, preheat the grill to medium-high and clean and oil the grates. Thread the chicken onto skewers (if using wooden skewers, make sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling to prevent burning). Try to leave a tiny bit of space between the chicken pieces; spacing the pieces slightly apart on the skewers ensures they cook evenly and get maximum grill exposure. If packed too tightly, they will steam rather than char.
Step 4: Grill the chicken. Grill, covered, until charred around the edges and just cooked through—3 to 5 minutes per side for chicken breasts or tenderloins, 5 to 6 minutes per side for thighs.
Step 5: Make the peanut sauce. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, curry paste, sriracha, soy sauce (or fish sauce), and lime juice. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and let cool slightly—it will continue to thicken as it cools. If the sauce thickens too much upon cooling, simply whisk in a splash of warm water to adjust the consistency before serving.
Step 6: Serve. Transfer the skewers to a platter and serve with the peanut sauce. Enjoy!
Chicken Satay
Serves 8 as an appetizer or 4 as a main course Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes, plus at least 4 hours for marinating- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil or alternative
- 1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, breasts, or tenderloins, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
- Skewers, for grilling (see note)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)
In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, ketchup, garlic, turmeric, and coriander. Add the chicken and toss until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
When ready to cook, preheat the grill to medium-high heat and clean and oil the grates. Thread the chicken onto skewers (be sure not to cram the skewers) and arrange them on the grill. Cook, covered, until the chicken is charred around the edges and just cooked through—3 to 5 minutes per side for chicken breasts or tenderloins, and 5 to 6 minutes per side for chicken thighs. Transfer to a platter and serve with the peanut sauce.
For the Peanut Sauce
Notes
You can use wooden or metal skewers. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes to prevent them from burning on the grill.Make-Ahead Instructions: The peanut sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Reheat before serving.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 687kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 51g, Fat: 41g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 214mg, Sodium: 1555mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 24g
